INDOT Previews New Pedestrian Bridge for 41 and Washington Avenue

For decades, students who attend Bosse High School but live west of the campus at the intersection of Highway 41 and Washington Avenue have had a treacherous walk to get to class, especially the final stretch that required crossing four lanes of highway (six if we're counting the two turn lanes on the southbound side). Fortunately, few, if any, accidents involving students being hit by oncoming traffic while trying to cross have occurred over that time, but that doesn't mean the intersection isn't dangerous. Talk of building a pedestrian bridge has happened from time to time over those years, but no concrete plans were ever put in motion to make it happen until 2019 a petition created on Change.org received enough signatures to prove to legislators on both the state and local level something needed to be done. Not long after in that same year, a $5 million project to build a bridge was announced. On Thursday, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) gave Evansville residents an idea of what that bridge will look like once it's completed with the release of a video on social media.

INDOT Reveals Artist Rendering of Bosse High School Pedestrian Bridge

Indiana Department of Transportation via Facebook

Based on the video, the bridge won't actually cross over the intersection itself, but just north of it. Students and other pedestrians heading east toward the school on Washington Avenue to make a left turn and take the long ramp to the bridge that will take them over Highway 41 before another long ramp takes them back down to Washington Avenue at the corner of the school's campus.

Public Hearing on Highway 41 Pedestrian Bridge Set for June 29th

A timeline for starting construction on the bridge and an estimated completion date has not been announced as of yet. However, we'll find out both pieces of information soon as INDOT will host a public hearing next Wednesday, June 29th at Bosse High School where they will share the idea behind the bridge's look along with the construction timeline. Doors are scheduled to open that day at 4:30 PM with the presentation by officials scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM. If you won't be able to attend in person, the hearing will be live-streamed on the Indiana Department of Transportation: Southwest Facebook page.

Check out the video INDOT released on Thursday below to see how this much-needed project will likely look once it's finally complete.

[Sources: INDOT: Southwest on Facebook / Evansville Courier-Press]

See How Downtown Evansville Has Changed Over the Years

I find looking back on the way things used to be fascinating. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm living through the current time period. The conveniences of answering any question we have in seconds, or ordering practically anything we want or need and having it delivered to our doorstep is pretty sweet. But, there is something fun about seeing how things around us have evolved. As an Evansville native, and spending quite a bit of my time in downtown Evansville (that's where the station is located), I've always appreciated the older architecture of the buildings around the area. So, I dug into the Willard Library Archives to see how a few of those areas look now compared to then. Some have changed a little, others quite a bit, and a few don't even exist any more. Take a look.